In 2024, studies estimated that among adults in the United States, 23% lived with a mental illness.
From traumatic life experiences to biological factors, people experience mental health issues for many different reasons.
For professional and collegiate athletes, these struggles can be heightened by the pressures of competing at the highest level.
“You get to college and it almost feels like everything changed because suddenly there’s the external pressures of ‘I’m representing a team,’” said Katelyn Lehigh, senior golfer on the Fresno State women’s golf team. “There are four other girls on the golf course and two coaches who are relying on me to hit the shot. Like it’s bigger than me at this point and that can be really hard to adjust to.”
The sole senior on the Fresno State women’s golf team has dealt with her share of challenges within her sport.
Growing up in Loveland, Colorado, Lehigh was no stranger to taking breaks from golf, but it was typically caused by the weather. It wasn’t until the age of 13 that a frustrated Lehigh ended up taking an extended break from golf. Not because of cold conditions, but because of disappointment while on the course.
It wasn’t until years later, after learning more about mental health, that she realized that her break was actually her first spell of burnout.
“We put in hours upon hours and it wears on you mentally [and] physically,” Lehigh said.
Athletes operate under high amounts of pressure. Expectations from coaches, teammates and themselves add to that burden.
To add insult to injury, athletes don’t have time to think about past mistakes in the middle of games. Instead, they try to focus on the next play.
In golf, the sport gives players the unique opportunity to dwell on a bad shot. Lehigh mentioned how much time between shots there is to linger on the negatives, something she tries to limit by reminding herself to stick to the process and through breath work.
But where each sport can be similar comes after the round or the final buzzer, when mistakes are easy to point out after the fact, spiraling alone in one’s head.
“It’s really easy to finish a round and, you know, all the things that you did wrong come to mind,” Lehigh said. “And then you feel like you let your team down, you feel like you let yourself down. And that’s really hard to handle.”
The conversation about mental health in athletics is still relatively new. Within the last decade, there have been numerous professional athletes who have come out to share their struggles with mental health.
From NBA players like DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love to Olympian gymnast Simone Biles, athletes have been trying to change the stigma around the conversation to make it more open for everyone.
The discussion continues with MLB player Jarren Duran, who opened up about his struggles just last season. Despite being open about his mental health, Duran has seen backlash from fans.
“For professional athletes to talk about it, I think, is really important because it’s easy to put them on a pedestal and say, ‘Oh, they’re just built different,’” Lehigh said.
Oftentimes, athletes are reduced to stats on a page or another jersey number. But with conversations like the one DeRozan and Love have started, people can feel more comfortable going through their own struggles, knowing that these athletes are going through the same.
A starting point for many athletes is figuring out their identity outside of their given sport. Having played golf for so long, Lehigh said that she doesn’t know what her life looks like without golf, which has come with its own set of challenges in her rebuilding process.
“Part of [my identity] is definitely still an athlete,” Lehigh said. “And I don’t think it’s healthy for anybody to just be one thing. I think that’s what makes life and identity so awesome is that you have the ability to do a lot of different things.”
Frequently, people who are struggling with their mental health try to isolate themselves in hopes of figuring it out on their own. And with all of the information available online, that aloneness can be overwhelming, but the results speak for themselves.
“Sometimes it feels like we get all of this stuff just shoved down our throats,” Lehigh said. “A little bit of breathing exercises this and positive thinking that. And it’s easy to just sit there and roll your eyes at it but it really does help.”
Being able to work through the challenges of mental health starts with going through the proper channels and being open enough to talk about it. For Lehigh, it was through a therapist and the people closest to her that have helped on her path.
“I mean, throughout this whole year, whole kind of final experience for me, I’ve really, really leaned on my support system and also my faith,” Lehigh said. “I have such an incredible support system around me.”
Students looking for mental health resources can visit the Fresno State Center for Essential Needs website or visit the Fresno State Health and Counseling Center in person or online for counseling and psychological services.
